Month: December 2018
Today's Inaugural Guest Post comes from Deep Ellum Stash, an FI seeking corporate analyst who's serious enough to pull off bike commuting in Texas (summer included!). She and her husband are nearing their FI goal and debating if it makes sense to stay in a high cost of living area. An executive at my MegaCorp once told a group to maximize optionality. He was talking about maintaining flexibility in their careers, learning skills that would set themselves up to choose among…
https://twitter.com/TomGartner/status/1075499140757499908?s=20 This chart was from Nov 30th, we're now way past that -10% drop! At the time of the time of this writing, the total stock market index is off by 17% from top to bottom. Multiple other indexes are past a 20% decline, which defines the infamous bear market. This is the worst decline from top to bottom since 2012’s decline of 19%. If the total market index or the S&P 500 exceeds a 20% drop, this will be…
The stock market has experienced a tough fourth quarter of 2018 and there are numerous talking heads bringing up the possibility of a recession. I've lived through one during college and a second that started five years into my working career. A recent question came up on twitter and it made me realize most people under the age of 30 haven't really experienced a recession. A twitter exchange led Olivia to ask this question: https://twitter.com/birdsofafire/status/1071115153561796608?s=20 I had the unique…
Answer: Yes! (Maybe the better question, what *don't* you have an opinion on) I had a reader ask me specifically about my opinion on "multifamily syndicates" and any advice I might have about them. He had been hearing that these investments have recently been providing a 6%-8% cash on cash return then providing 1.5x to 2x the equity contributed at exit in three to five years. In full disclosure, these investments *have* been providing this level of return. They have…
The 2019 IRS Limits for Retirement Accounts were recently released and savers will be able to put away more than ever into various tax deferred accounts. With that comes one of the occasional and sometimes political debates of what will happen to our retirement accounts in the future? Potential negative risks in the future include means testing for deferral benefits, a cap on total account size, and a potential reduction of social security benefits based on retirement savings accounts. We…
Should developing a Financial Plan be complicated? One of the appeals of the Financial Independence movement is how easy the the planning formula is. It can lure people in through simplicity and that's a good thing! Save a pot of dollars, invest it in the total stock market index, and withdraw up to 4% per year. If you want to figure out when you'll be financially independent, run a quick spreadsheet or online calculator based on your savings, projected additions, and…